30+ Miles of Smoke: Satellite Photos Show Smoke Plume From Burning Oil Rig [Update: It Sunk]

Tragedy can strike on any day, even Earth Day. It's a disaster for the workers and their families, and probably also a disaster for the environment (though we don't yet know how bad).Update:BP Gulf Oil Spill Cheat Sheet: A Timeline of Unfortunate Events11 Still MissingYesterday, we covered the tragic explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The news today isn't very good; helicopters and ships resumed the search this morning because 11 workers are still missing, and the oil rig is still burning, leaving a huge plume of smoke that is more than 30 miles long (check out the NASA photos below). [See the update about the sinking below]

Photo: U.S. Coast GuardUpdate: The good news is that the fire is now extinguished. The bad news is that the oil rig sank, and this could cause all kinds of environmental problems.

About 100 workers were transported by a supply ship to Port Fourchon where they saw doctors. They will stay at a hotel near New Orleans for the time being.

Authorities could not say when the flames might die out on the 400-by-250-foot rig, which is roughly twice the size of a football field, according the Transocean's website. A column of boiling black smoke rose hundreds of feet over the Gulf of Mexico as fireboats shot streams of water at the blaze. Officials said the damage to the environment appeared minimal so far. (source)

Minimal. Let's hope so.

Good thing this was an exploration rig and not a production one, because things could have been much worse. If there had been a big oil spill, it might have been hard to see on satellite images, but not impossible. The photo below was taken last August in the Timor Sea and shows a probably oil slick:

30+ Miles of Smoke: Satellite Photos Show Smoke Plume From Burning Oil Rig [Update: It Sunk]

Tragedy can strike on any day, even Earth Day. It's a disaster for the workers and their families, and probably also a disaster for the environment (though we don't yet know how bad).
Update: BP Gulf Oil Spill Cheat Sheet: A Timeline of Unfortunate